Sometimes you just have to appreciate the symmetry.
Who is better to review the qualifications of Carleton Ching as chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources than the former chairwoman of the same state agency?
Today’s state Sen. Laura Thielen was Chairwoman Thielen back in 2007.
It was the job nobody wanted and Thielen brought some stability to the vital but little understood department.
Now she is in the Senate and leading the committee — Water and Land — that will open Ching’s confirmation hearing on March 11.
So far, Ching, a lobbyist for real estate developer Castle & Cooke, has not moved the public opinion needle in his direction. If anything, his appointment has solidified his opponents, who since mounting a successful campaign to run former Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s poorly conceived Public Land Development Corporation out of existence, have had little trust in state government.
Thielen’s BLNR chairmanship, plus Department of Land and Natural Resources directorship, came after the 2007 rejection of a second term for GOP Gov. Linda Lingle’s land board honcho, Peter Young.
Eight years ago, the Senate committee led by former Sen. Russell Kokubun held five days of hearings that bordered on confirmation cruelty.
Young was the Big Island’s deputy managing director when Lingle picked him to run DLNR.
Before working for the county, Young ran a real estate brokerage and did land-use planning. Young is now back to working for property owners, helping with land use planning.
During his hearing, the committee subpoenaed witness who testified against Young, some of them in secret. Young was forced to give his testimony under oath, an unprecedented move.
Lingle, who stayed through six hours of attacks on Young, but was not allowed by Kokubun to speak on Young’s behalf, came away saying, "The average person who has watched this hearing is disgusted by the whole process."
When Thielen in 2007 replaced Young, she had no confirmation problems. She was already a known quantity, having served as executive director of the Office of State Planning. Before that she had been a school board member and attorney who practiced environmental law.
Now she will run the investigation into Ching, who is an unknown quantity.
"I ask a lot of questions of the nominees and we do independent research — that’s standard for me," Thielen said in an interview this week.
Thielen is not so much a champion or opponent of the nominee as a big believer in the importance of her former department, so she will be listening closely to Ching’s thoughts on DLNR’s many functions.
"To me one of the side benefits is that this allows us to have a larger discussion across the state about the importance of the department and its mission," she said.
"What is important right now is what the nominee says, not what I say; I’m not there now."
In 2007, the Peter Young inquisition was criticized as a staged political hit job against Lingle.
Young’s many critics at the beginning of his administration had turned into his admirers by the time of his reappointment and spoke in his favor. It did not sway the Democrats.
Today the political tables have turned.
The Democratic state Senate is faced with an unpopular nominee, with little public support.
But Ching’s biggest supporter, Gov. David Ige, was a much beloved Democratic state senator last year and is now enjoying a honeymoon with the Legislature.
Watching the political posturing on this one will be fascinating.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
